Reed is the all-time leader for interception return yards with 1,541, ranking ahead of Hall of Fame safety Rod Woodson. And he ranks 10th on the all-time interceptions list, one behind Dick LeBeau and Dave Brown and two behind Ronnie Lott and Darren Sharper.

"Ed Reed’s career? It’s everything. His production," said Belichick, when asked about Reed's legacy today by New England reporters. "He's had fabulous production at whatever he’s done, including blocking kicks and returning kicks and things like that.

"His interceptions, his interception return yardages, his instinctiveness and his play-making ability, how consistent he's been over time. He just does things that nobody else at that position does or I don’t know if they’ve ever done it. He’s special. He's really special."